The tale of Aladdin and the magic lamp was first accounted
for around 944 AD, but it wasn’t until 1888 by Burton’s “Arabian Nights” it
became known to the western world. It is the tale of Aladdin, the son of a
poor tailor, who was deceived by an African magician to fetch a magic lamp and
to be left for dead, who takes revenge and marriages the sultan’s daughter and
in turn becomes the sultan himself. The first film version came in 1906 as
“Aladdin ou la lampe merveilleuse” by Albert Capellani, and later became
integrated parts on “The Thief of Bagdad”, both in Raoul Walsh’s 1924 version
and in Michael Powell’s 1940 version, both by themselves stunning timeless
classics.

Having turned Paramount around, Eisner and Katzenberg moved on to Disney in
1984, both in order to make it financially sound again, but also to make
Disney regain the magic it had lost during the seventies. Katzenberg believed
that the secret to success was a great story and under his control, Disney
went from making forgettable films to re-establishing its second golden age,
with films like “Who killed Roger Rabbit?”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and
the Beast”, “Aladdin” and “The Lion King”. Katzenberg was also responsible for
taking on Pixar, before he was fired by Eisner and moved on to form DreamWorks
with Spielberg and Geffen, where he continued to develop great animated
stories like “Shrek” and “Shrek 2”. By any standard, “Aladdin” is still today
the greatest achievement by Disney, surpassed only in box office by “The Lion
King”, but in terms of animation, storytelling and music, it has no equal.

The story is a very basic adaptation of the original tale. Aladdin is a thief
with a golden heart, who longs for a better life and dreams of living a life
of luxury in the sultan’s palace. Here, princess Jasmin, has the same dream,
except that she wants a life outside the palace. The two meet and fall in
love, but are torn apart by the evil schemes of the grand vizier Jafar, who
wants to both be the sultan and have Jasmin for himself. Luring Aladdin to get
him a magic lamp and to leave him for dead, his plans are foiled and Aladdin
by chance activates the lamp, releasing the Genie, who grants him three
wishes. But Jafar does not intend to let a simple thief spoil his plans…

There are several reasons why “Aladdin” is such a great film.

First of all it has a simple story, where the motif of being true to yourself
is pitted against greed and megalomania. A step up from traditional golden age
Disney motifs of the inner child and coming of age, the motifs are more
mature, yet innocent enough to find their way to the hearts of those with an
inner child.

Second of all, the supporting cast were strengthened in character. The
supporting cast have always had its stars and strength in character, just
think Jiminy Cricket in “Pinocchio” or Thumper in “Bambi”, but in “Aladdin”
the supporting cast almost have the strength of leading characters: Iago the
parrot, the magic carpet and above all, Genie. All three are an animators
dream come true, strongly inspired by the non-stop improvisations of Gotlieb
and Williams.

A brief note here towards the characters of “Aladdin”, who very much so are
inspired by Powell’s 1940 “Thief of Bagdad”. The monkey Apu is as energetic as
Sabu, the sultan is a playful variation of Malleson’s sultan and Jafar seems
like carved from Veidt’s Jafar. All done with much respect and admiration,
this is what homage is all about.

Third and finally, the songs. To some extend, a Disney film is very much like
a classic musical, where the plot stops to allow the characters to express the
situation thru song, but thanks to the genius of Alan Menken (winner of 8
Oscars) the musical side is elevated to classical status by its modern
Broadway approach. . A special note here to collaborator Howard Ashman, who
wrote the lyrics for this, as well as for “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and
the Beast”. A genial song writer, with a magical sense for variation and
tempo, the musical side of these films would have been lesser without his
playful skill. Sadly Ashman died of AIDS in 1991, thus “Aladdin” became his
last film.

But “Aladdin” is not beyond criticism. A major critique has to go to the
Genie, who is such a scene stealer, that he not only at times disrupt the
story, but even allows one to approach the story as him as the lead and
Aladdin and Jasmin as supporting cast. Where Iago has the darkest evil to play
against, Genie has indecisive goodness. Yet it is doubtful if “Aladdin” would
have worked so well without him.

Another critique is that “Aladdin” is the most violent of all Disney films.
Especially the show down is too frightening for small children. Where all
Golden Age Disney films were made for adults with an inner child, they always
had an innocent approach to violence. “Aladdin” has not.

By many been compared to “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, in its energy and
transcending entertainment, “Aladdin” is a true Disney classic and amongst the
greatest Disney films ever made. It is an adventure film with a capital A and
timeless with a capital T. It is a roller coaster ride full of memorable
characters, great songs and a daring innovation in animated story telling.
Aladdin may be a diamond in the rough, but "Aladdin" is a gem of the highest
karat.

The image is presented in original 1.66:1 anamorphic enhanced and while
the actual image is 1.69:1, comparing it to the CAV Laserdisc, it seems
not cropped. The image is breathtaking. Over 100 scenes were reasserted,
several scenes redrawn, all to allow more detail on digital presentation.
Colours are solid and intense. There are a few places that shows edge
enhancement and mosquito noise (see capture #5), but all in all, this is
reference material.

The sound side has likewise been enhanced. The films original 5.1 Dolby
Digital track has been remixed by "Aladdin”’s original sound mixer, Terry
Porter, to give it a more dynamic surround presentation. Additionally, a
special remix for home theatre, designed for living room acoustics, is
added. This special mix is +3 to +6 DB louder than the “normal” 5.1 DD
mix, has a tighter sub and a bit more action in the rears. Those who are
familiar with the sound track of the CAV laserdisc will know, that certain
passages were subdued. On this DVD, everything is fully restored.

Now to the additional material, which begins with two audio commentaries.
The first is by producers/directors John Musker, Ron Clements, and
co-producer Amy Pell who talks about the production, about direction (as
directing animation is very different to directing live actors), about the
in-jokes and about the general history of the film. The second is by the
animators Andreas Deja (Jafar), Will Finn (Iago), Eric Goldberg (Genie),
and Glean Keane (Aladdin). . Personally I would have liked a tighter
commentary, but both commentaries are still very informative and highly
enjoyable.

Next comes deleted scenes and songs. The scenes are early story board
sketches and while not crucial to the story, they allow a nice reference
to the construction of the story, when holding them together with the
production history. Sadly the title song, “Arabian Nights”, in its
original format is not present. The original opening lyrics was “Where
they cut off your ear if they don't like your face...”, but was considered
to harsh and was replaced with “Where it's flat and immense and the heat
is intense...” for Video and Laserdisc releases. An important piece of
production history missing.

Disc 2 has, as all Disney DVDs, a good amount of extras for the kids. Here
you can ride the magic carpet, visit Genie’s lamp (what did he mean with
itsy-bitsy living space???) and play a game of three wishes. As said, its
for the kids.

For the adults, it begins with a 100 minute Making of special, introduced
and hosted by Leonard Maltin. It’s a very unusual Making of. It is divided
into specific chapters, each beginning with live introduction of the
people in questions (on stage with an audience), then having footnote
subchapters, which allows you explore the details. The Making of can
either be played all or seen individually thru an index. Great stuff.

Following this comes a 20 minute presentation of Alan Menken. Again a
great presentation, but for my taste not talking enough about Ashman.

Next is a 6 minute featurette, with audio commentary by the animators, of
different art work and concepts, followed by a still frame gallery.

The DVD comes in two formats. The standard 2-DVD and a Collector's Gift
Set. For the true Disney fan, the gift set really is worth the extra
dollar, as it comes with 5 exclusive all-new sketches by the original
animator, film frame from the movie, and a new "Aladdin" Special Edition
book all enclosed in a slip sleeve case. If the book is the same as the
one from the Japanese CAV laserdisc ("The Making of an Animated Film: A
Walt Disney Classic Aladdin" by James Culhane (in Japanese), 121 pages,
originally published by Hyperion Press New York) I cannot say.